Concerning the cat
by SamBelle
Summary: Post DH fic. One-shot. Crookshanks passed away and Ron tries to cheer Hermione up a bit.


**A/N: this was just a random little one-shot i came up with. For those reading The Bookworm and the King, this one fits in just after chapter 25. I hope you guys enjoy, please comment and review.**

Ron had had an idea. The idea seemed like a rather good idea. This idea came to him a few days ago, when Hermione walked through the house calling for Crookshanks before remembering that Crookshanks wasn't there anymore. Crookshanks had died about a fortnight ago. He was rather old and Hermione had known that the end was near, but it didn't make it hurt any less. Although Ron never really liked Crookshanks that much, he still missed the old bugger. He also didn't like seeing his wife looking so sad and lost as she wandered through the house.

After one of Ron's shifts, he apparated to Diagon Alley before heading back to Grimmauld Place. Hermione was sitting in an armchair next to the fireplace in the drawing room. Her brow was furrowed with concentration as her eyes darted back and forth over the book she was reading. Ron entered the room slowly after schooling his features to hide the grin that kept crawling onto his face.

Hermione smiled as she looked up and greeted him. He kissed her head in return, keeping his arms behind his back. Hermione noticed this and cocked her head to one side in question. "Pick a hand" Ron smiled. "What, am I three years old now?" she mocked. Ron simply raised an eyebrow. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine, left then" she sighed. Ron shook his head and brought his right hand from behind his back. In it he was holding a small box, and, as Hermione soon saw, said box contained a tiny sleeping kitten. Hermione's face lit up with joy as Ron's left hand scratched the back of his neck. "I know she can't replace Crookshanks or bring him back, but I thought she might help" he said sheepishly. "She's perfect" Hermione said, carefully lifting the now awake kitten. "Thank you Ron" she said, leaning in to give him a hug and kiss while cradling the little bundle against her chest.

"So what are you going to name it?" Harry asked at dinner. "She, not it" Ron corrected. Harry held his hands up in surrender as Ginny shot Hermione a smile. "I was thinking of naming her Ila (Ee-lah)" Hermione answered. Ila was a tiny white kitten with smooth fur and ginger patches over various parts of her body, including her two ears and left eye. Her nose was a light pink and her eyes were a greenish-grey. In short, she was the cutest cat Hermione had ever seen.

Hermione and Ila quickly bonded over cuddles and accidentally spilled milk. Hermione also subconsciously carried Ila everywhere, which led to a lot of mockery from the boys. "If you don't put her down soon, she will have enough air miles to travel to Egypt" Ron joked when he saw Ila once again cuddled against Hermione's chest as they went upstairs. Not that Ron should be complaining; when Hermione wasn't cuddling the cat, she was cuddling Ron to say thank you for said cat.

Ila was also the only cat Ron knew about that actually liked water. They discovered this when Hermione was washing her hair in the sink and Ila jumped up to sit next to the tap. Misjudging the distance of the leap, Ila slipped into the sink and fell into the lukewarm water. Hermione immediately reached to take her out, but she just stared up at her, looking quite pleased with herself as she used her paws to splash the water.

Ron had set up a little basket next to the night stand on Hermione's side of the bed, where Ila was supposed to sleep. However, she often tried her luck, crawling up to snuggle between the couple once they fell asleep. This had worked the first few times, but after Ron nearly crushed her accidentally in his sleep, Hermione tried to break the habit.

Ron was very pleased with his idea. Not only did Hermione hug and cuddle him more often, but he also liked this cat. Crookshanks wasn't an awful cat, but he was extremely ugly and Ron still couldn't bring himself to like the beast after the whole Scabbers ordeal. Hermione came back from the shops once to find Ron sitting on the floor watching Ila chase an enchanted toy across the room. "I love you" was all she managed to say as she snogged his brains out.


End file.
